Yeahhh, I knowwww, I want to post more frequently if I can. I'm trying to strike the right balance between sharing more stuff and avoiding having to take hiatus to get future material ready. For now I'm erring more on the conservative side to make sure I have enough time to get all the material written to a quality that I'm OK with.

I know, how hard is it going to be to wait a week in between? I'm totally going to have to take the Kindle Fire or swipe my mother's iPad when we go to Alaska so I can hide in the closet and read that Sunday's episode.

Wow, just wonderful. So far this is the best take on season 8 I've seen. Believable, well thought out interactions between Dany and Jon, Dany and Tyrion, lovely Jon and Arya reunion. A great in-character reason for Arya to travel with Jorah and the Dothraki, Jon not wanting to let her go after finally getting her back (can't wait to see Sansa's reaction to that). You're going to spoil me if the rest are this good.

Remember, you asked. ;-) So, let me start this second review with just how grateful I am for the coherency of your script. Things are spelled right, the grammar and punctuation (which admittedly aren’t my strongest suite) are correct. You know who the characters are. There are some very imaginative fics out there that are just so hard to read because the authors get the characters names wrong or spell things phonetically or sometimes they just seem to make up words. I love that this fic is so well written.

EastwatchYou do a really good job of setting the environment, showing us where we are and what’s happening without making it wooden. I’ve seen a lot of stories in the script format (including the first Godawful General Hospital fic I wrote a thousand years ago) that barely set the scene at all. Eastwatch – The Night’s King rides Viserion overhead You didn’t do that! You created an atmosphere that I can see and feel as I’m reading it. You remembered that the Free Folk have experience climbing the wall and how they did it (painstakingly with ropes and ice picks). The characters are tired and disheartened when they reach the bottom. I can see that lingering gaze that Beric gives the Night’s King and his army before leaving.

Dany’s CampAgain, you set the scene beautifully, letting the reader picture what’s going on. The conversation between Jon, Dany and Tyrion. Jon’s pause, the fact that he’s taking the time to consider how best to approach his bannermen and explain it, instead of rushing ahead like he usually does. Jon trying to find the best way to explain it to Dany. Tyrion understanding his decision and trying to explain Northern politics to Dany and then CALLING HER OUT on the relationship with Jon and not telling him about it (Euron Greyjoy, really Tyrion? Dany should smack you into next week for that suggestion.)JON'S TENT JON AND ARYA! SQUEAL JON AND ARYA! Nothing else matters because you gave me this reunion and it was beautiful and in character and JON AND ARYA! I’ve waited seven seasons and five books for this moment. sniffling I’m going to take a moment to sob with joy.Jon and Arya bonding over Needle! Jon teasingly saying he’s surprised Arya and Sansa haven’t killed each other and then realizing that’s not so far off. Jon’s reaction to Arya killing Littlefinger and then asking what’s happened to her. lower lip quiveringJust one more time – JON AND ARYA! FINALLY! (He really needs to muss her hair at some point.)Jon introducing Arya and Dany, and Arya immediately being herself and asking about the dragons! BranRaven and Arya trying to explain warging to outsiders (Dear show, explain again why we couldn’t have Arya warging Nymeria and Jon warging Ghost). Jon’s horror over Bran’s message, another thing I can picture so clearly.Poor Dany, first the shock over realizing the Wall has fallen and then to find out that the Night’s King has her child and is using him against the living. I really want to hug Dany here.

“According to your… magic bird brother.

snickerJorah choosing to go with the Dothraki, and he is the best choice as someone who knows the North and speaks both languages.Arya volunteering to go with Jorah and Jon’s absolute horror at the idea. I admit it, there was much more squealing on my part. Arya embracing that she’s a Stark and people will go to Winterfell when she asks because of it. Jon sending Ghost with her (Oh, hey, look GHOST is still alive) and telling her not to fight them, just go warn the people and COME BACK. At this point I was 50% “YES! You go girl!” and 50% but… but… but GENDRY! GENDRY IS THERE SOMEWHERE AND THEY HAVEN’T SEEN EACH OTHER! MAH BABIES! It’s a smart choice and it makes sense for Arya to go. But still MAH BABIES!Taking Drogon to Winterfell. giggle But I do NOT envy Jon explaining to Sansa where Arya is. Nope, not one bit.I am anxiously looking forward to Sunday.

oh this is so good <3 thank you thank you thank you. this is the sort of thing that really gets me excited to write more. no lie, there is no better tactic to get more material faster than writing feedback like this :-D

JON AND ARYA! I’ve waited seven seasons and five books for this moment.

ME TOO! I think this entire craziness happened because my brain just couldn't take the waiting any longer and just had to make it happen now. I need my Jon and Arya, and HBO isn't gonna give it to me until 2019 and that wasn't acceptable, so something snapped, and well, here we are.

Wow! I hardly ever read fanfics anymore due to lack of quality. This was really great. I enjoyed every bit of it and wish I had the next to read right now. I have a question; did Tyrion throw out Euron Greyjoy's name when suggesting to Dany who she might possibly marry to show her that it's very powerful to have the prospect of marriage, in the minds of potential allies or specifically adversaries, to use as a political tool rather than "wasting" her chance to ever even use marriage/the prospect of marriage on someone already alligned with her causes?

and yes, basically! Tyrion is arguing that the "possibility" of marriage gives her power... at the very least, it can entice people to the negotiating table who might not otherwise be approachable, such as Euron, who is currently Cersei's most important ally. Marrying Jon at this time would cause them to lose that tool, "wasting" it as you say, since Jon has already pledged fealty to her with or without marriage.

There's also the implicit argument that even if they ultimately choose Jon, there's no reason to make that commitment *now*. Presumably Jon would still be interested later... better to keep her options open for now, win the war, secure her throne etc, and THEN marry Jon, if that seems best.

Really, given all these compelling arguments, the fact that she's sleeping with Jon is prettttty dicey, politically. If the rumor gets out, that already damages the credibility of this marriage possibility, to other suitors. It's politically imprudent of her, and worse, she did not consult with Tyrion before giving in to her passions. Tyrion is her Hand, he's supposed to be her closest advisor, and there have already been other strains on their relationship throughout S7 where Tyrion is feeling insecure in his ability to direct her. I thinks this underpins a lot of his unhappiness that we see, when Dany and Jon are hooking up during the S7 finale.

Wow, that was impressive. You did an excellent job with the dialogue, especially with Tyrion. I could hear those words in Peter Dinklage's voice. Jon & Arya's reunion was also very well done. Simple but touching. And I laughed out loud at Bran and the note. An excellent read, and I'm looking forward to the rest. One question: Did I understand Dany to say that it took her three days to fly from Dragonstone to the north to rescue Jon & company?

Like most of the fan community, I'm dying to see Jon and Arya reunite on the show, so I think my brain couldn't wait that long and made it happen itself.

I got feedback that some people found the Bran raven thing a bit ham-fisted, but it was funny to me and apparently to you. I've debated whether to go back and tone it down a little.

Yeah, someone on a fan forum did some math and estimates and think that it would've taken about 3 days of flying to get from Dragonstone to the frozen lake, and also that lines up about right for how long it might take the water to freeze hard enough to walk on if there was a roundtrip (raven to Dragonstone, dragon back). I think a lot of people thought it was like a day because of how quickly those scenes followed each other in the episode, but there are little cues that to me suggest a passage of several days.

I looked at the Westeros map and did some measurements, and that's also how I concluded that it would take the NK about a day to fly to Winterfell if he wanted to go directly there without his army.

I also did a lot of similar cross-referencing and measuring and guesstimating for things like how long it would take the Army of the Dead to hit Last Hearth, Karhold, and sweep the various Northern villages before heading to Winterfell. And also for how long it should take Tormund et al to walk west to where they're going.

I appreciate the explanation. You've obviously done your research. I only asked because I could swear I saw an article that had someone involved in the show saying it was 24 hrs. If I can find it and it's indeed from a credible source, I'll post the link.

This contains segment of an interview with Alan Taylor, who directed the episode. In the same post, fans seemed to have come up with the 24 hour figure.

It doesn't matter. I'm not here to nitpick. I was just curious if I was not understanding something. While your estimates of how long it would take seem most realistically accurate, the idea of Jon & company sitting on the ice surrounded by zombies that don't attack for three days doesn't seem realistic. I also got the impression that Thoros died in the night following his injury. But again, it's not at all important except as a topic for me to obsess over. :) Your work is outstanding and I binge-read it all today. I was disappointed when I got to the end of ep 3 and realized there wasn't another one, but I signed up for the updates and will be anticipating the next installment.